The main symptom of indigestion is pain, or a feeling of discomfort in your chest or stomach. This usually comes on soon after eating or drinking, but there can sometimes be a delay between eating a meal and having indigestion.
The pain of indigestion may feel like an ache, a feeling of heaviness, or a burning sensation. Indigestion symptoms are often described as heartburn, which you may experience as a burning pain behind your breastbone (in the front of your chest, over your heart).
If you have indigestion, you may also have symptoms such as:
- nausea,
- belching, and
- a feeling of being very full.
In rare cases, indigestion can be a symptom of stomach cancer.
You should seek immediate medical advice if you have recurring indigestion and you:
- Are over the age of 55.
- Have lost a lot of weight without meaning to.
- Have increasing difficulty swallowing.
- Have persistent vomiting.
- Have anaemia as a result of a lack of iron in your body (which causes tiredness, breathlessness and an irregular heart beat), or have a lump or mass in your stomach.
